Sports Burst - Vela Will Not Be A Barca Fella
Ernesto Valverde rules out Carlos Vela move as Barcelona prepares for midweek action amidst locker room rumbles
by Tim Stannard
Barcelona takes on Valladolid in day that could see three different leaders of LaLiga
Due to the postponement of El Clasico last weekend, the last time Barcelona were in action was in the Champions League with a less than efficient squeaky away win against Slavia Prague that forced the normally reticent Ter Stegen to mutter dark thoughts to the media about issues to resolve in the locker room.
On Monday, Ernesto Valverde put those Germanic musings down to a fairly busy period of activity for the keeper in the last part of the game, a goalie who only wanted Barcelona to force an early Czech mate against Slavia. "If we have to solve something, we will solve it within the club not publicly" announced a cryptic Valverde.
The Spanish manager also pondered the possibility of LAFC striker, Carlos Vela, joining the team on loan for two months in January during some MLS downtime. Despite actively not liking playing soccer, Vela seems up for it. Valverde less so - "we are happy with what we have got."
The visitors to the Camp Nou today in a game that is live, live, live on beIN SPORTS at 4:15PM ET are Valladolid, a team that is as sturdy as their club president, Ronaldo the First, on an unbeaten run of five.
Atletico Madrid are kicking off the midweek round of La Liga and also Tuesday's action with an away trip to Alaves. Diego Costa should return to the starting line-up to either score a winning goal or elbow an opponent in the head to get a red card. Or both.
Tune in at 2PM ET for that one on a day that could see three different leaders of La Liga.
Get the lowdown on everything you could want to know with the live edition of Sports Burst at 12PM ET. Just head to our beIN SPORTS USA Facebook page.
Kevin Durant eyes Barcelona move to end career
Might as well stay with Barcelona and although the club might be cool on Carlos Vela dropping in for two months, alarm bells of excitement will be going off at the club with Kevin Durant announcing that he would love to see out his career at Barcelona.
Eventually.
"I don't know if I'll do it, but it would be cool to experience it," said the Brooklyn Nets man in an interview with Serge Ibaka on Bleacher Report on taking a year abroad for the final season of his career, theoretically in four years' time once his latest deal runs down.
The Golden State Warriors picked up their first victory of the new NBA season on Monday night, after suffering two defeats. Steph Curry dropped 26 points in a 134-123 win over the Zion-less New Orleans Pelicans.
In Monday Night Football action, the Miami Dolphins in complete contrast to the Warriors were not able to manage to win their first match of the season.
There was a flicker of hope for a while though against the Pittsburgh Steelers with the Dolphins taking a 14-0 lead before capitulating completely to suffer a 27-14 defeat for a 0-7 season so far.
Astros look to clinch World Series as LAFC look for MLS Cup final berth
There could be some clinching going on in the US of A on Tuesday night. The World Series reaches Game 6 in Houston, Texas.
A win for the Astros and it is all over with the home team holding a 3-2 lead over the Washington Nationals. A victory would see the Astros' second World Series title in three years.
In MLS, LAFC could reach the MLS Cup final with a one-off win over visiting Seattle Sounders. However, a wildfire currently 20 miles from the stadium will be monitored during the day.
Wednesday's Conference playoff final sees Atlanta United hosting Toronto FC.